The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-03-02
To Young Ministers, Only.
BY C. E. CLINE.

l. Have a glowing love for human
nature, and an enthusiasm for your
work. If you cannot love people who
are wretchedly distorted and unlova-
BILE you had better quit now; you will
have hard sleddidg.
2. Take good care Of your body.
Eat, drink, and sleep we'll. Manage
to get in as much cheerful, harmless
recreation as possible. Don't be lazy.
Let no one have a better cultivated
garden than yourself.
8. Manage your business matters
with simplicity and common-sense.
Ordinarily the heaviest calamities that
befall ministers come from q lack of
managing their finances with simplic-
ity. You did not 60 into the ministry
20 make money. Leaye that to COM
mon men.
4. Study with purpose and an end
in view. Don't be literary mummy.
Study men as we'll as books. Read
broadly but not rapidly, and have "a
sort of playground of desultory read
ing" There is no law conf1ning 20
in your reading to the Bible and Meth
odist hymn-book.
5, Use your common-sense in every
thing; but don't be criticising the
translation and commentators, or MAX
ing other demonstrations of your abil-
ity. 1t makes an unfavorable impress
sion OH people of good, plain sense.
6. Don't think you must have your
mind made up on everything. There
were things concerning which Mr.
Wesley and DIR. Whedon were notpos-
tive. The greatest and best men are
not ashamed sometimes to say II don't
know
7. Have too much strength of char
acter to let shifting expediences or so
cial customs play tricks with you.
Genuine love for souls is the clearest-
sighted thing on earth. Have this,
and you will be at ease in all company.
8. Don't 60 to seed on any one
thing. Don't be constantly battledoor-
ing on baptism. Don't be eternally
preaching on sanctification. Remem-
ber the boarder who was compelled to
eat honey for fifty or sixty meals, but
couldn't stand even honey for a con-
stant diet.
8. Don't forget that your charge is a
peculiar one. But don't bother your
self about that. You are peculiar too,
a fact the good bishop ascertained, and
so made good match.
10. Be especially shy of criticising
your predecessor. You ought to hear
what some folks on your last charge
are saying about you. Nine cases out
of ten the persons who say unkind
things of your predecessor, will scorn
you when you are gone, if not before.
II. Go and see the people. Tell
them you came on purpose. But don't
be flying ronnd like bean in a tin.
cup. Have all earnest manner and o
sensible way. Don't be too awful Sc
rious. The cemetery is the place for
tombstones.
12. Don't be surprised when diff
culties come. There are many good
hearted wrong-headed people even in
the church. Don't whine when trials
come. "Crocodiles and pigs are the
only things that have no trials"
13. Look out for blue Mondays.
They are sure to come. You will then
be ashamed of the sermons you preach
ed the day before; and maybe you
should be. Don't worry, and don't
wet your own powder by saying you
didn't succeed in your sermons yester-
day. Don't 60 out Monday morning
to draw people out OIL what they
thought of your last sermons. That
is small business for a minister.
Northwestern advocate.